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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bear — the animal
  3. root — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — to come down
  8. root — of a word
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — final
  11. land — ground
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. root — the cause
  17. bear — the animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — for pool
  23. land — a country
  24. last — finally

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