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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — to wash
  4. perch — the fish
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. staff — a stick
  7. scale — size or range
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — to play on
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — in music
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — the season
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. swing — music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — hurry

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