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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rock — music
  7. pop — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — in football
  21. rock — a stone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — soda

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