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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — from crying
  7. firm — decided
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — rain
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tear — to rip
  13. firm — steady
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tear — from crying
  17. firm — a company
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — the fish
  20. land — a country
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — a phone
  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