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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fine — all right
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — child
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fine — high quality

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