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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. rock — music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. present — there
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. rock — a stone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — letters
  23. shower — to wash
  24. perch — the fish

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