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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cap — a lid
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — the fish
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. spring — the season
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. straw — dry grass

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