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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. perch — the fish
  8. court — of law
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. shower — rain
  18. fall — to drop
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. shower — to wash

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