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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. firm — decided
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spring — the season
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a music group
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. firm — a company
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. shower — rain
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. row — a line
  22. perch — the fish
  23. firm — steady
  24. wax — to grow

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