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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. staff — a stick
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. shower — rain
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bear — the animal
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. staff — employees
  21. bear — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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