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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — to drop
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. court — for sport
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — the animal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bear — to put up with

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