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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — the animal
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. can — to be able to
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — a tin
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. swing — music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — in cards
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. can — a tin
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. swing — in golf

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