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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 120 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. club — for golf
  5. shower — rain
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fall — to drop
  10. club — a group
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a line
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. shower — to wash
  18. row — to paddle
  19. club — for dancing
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — the season

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