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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. hand — in cards
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. date — the fruit
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. shower — to wash
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rash — hasty
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. key — in music
  24. shower — rain

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