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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. spring — the season
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. press — to push
  17. spring — of water
  18. perch — the fish
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. leaves — lets stay

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