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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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 rest against
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chip — to eat
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lean — to bend
  13. row — a line
  14. lean — thin
  15. perch — the fish
  16. capital — a city
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — to paddle
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chip — for betting
  23. capital — money
  24. dip — to dunk

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