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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — a box
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — rain
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cap — a lid
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — a leader
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — to wash

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