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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — an illness
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. scale — in music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — to roll

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