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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — help
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — a phone
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. object — an aim
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. object — a thing
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. object — to protest

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