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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — to wash
  6. present — a gift
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. present — there
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — rain
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. present — the time now
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rash — hasty
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. perch — for a bird

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