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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. present — there
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a document
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com