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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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 — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. shower — rain
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — for digging
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. roll — a list
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — to come down
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. land — a country
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — to wash
  23. land — ground
  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