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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — completely
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — rain
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. toast — bread
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. arm — a part of something

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