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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a hole
  8. tear — to rip
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. craft — boats
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pit — in a race
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. squash — the sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. dip — to sink
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. craft — a skill
  23. hand — help
  24. spell — letters

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