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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bound — certain
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. roll — a list
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bound — tied together
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. shower — rain
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cell — in biology
  22. key — for a lock
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. roll — a cake

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