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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — to come down
  4. deal — to handle
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. land — a country
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wake — a trail
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bound — certain
  23. perch — the fish
  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