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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bound — certain
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bound — tied together
  8. mug — a face
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — to rob
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mug — a cup
  15. rush — hurry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bound — obliged

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