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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — to rob
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. rock — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. perch — the fish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — to trim
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rock — a stone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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