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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. scale — size or range
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. perch — the fish
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bass — low music
  13. branch — a division
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bass — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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