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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pit — a hole
  4. track — a path
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — a song
  8. perch — the fish
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — to wash
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pit — in a race
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stem — to come from

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