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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — the season
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — moving air
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. last — finally
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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