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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lie — to recline
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bass — low music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lie — an untruth

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