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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — a friend
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. shower — rain
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — the season
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wound — an injury

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