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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a match
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — rain
  13. present — a gift
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — to come from
  19. present — the time now
  20. ball — a dance
  21. present — there
  22. ball — a great time
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. game — a kind of play

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