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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cue — a signal
  4. spring — of water
  5. lean — thin
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spring — the season
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cue — for pool
  11. root — of a word
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cue — a hint
  18. hand — in cards
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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