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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a partner
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. can — a tin
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. can — a tin
  17. face — to confront
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — to breed
  20. kid — to tease
  21. face — to point toward
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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