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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — of water
  4. cue — a hint
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. cue — a signal
  14. capital — a city
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. perch — the fish
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. spring — the season

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