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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — to bend
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. perch — the fish
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lean — thin
  11. game — a match
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. kid — to tease
  18. date — the fruit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kid — child
  24. leaves — of a tree

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