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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.

Make a worksheet

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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rest — what's left
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rest — a break
  16. file — a document
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. object — an aim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. object — to protest
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tear — to rip
  24. perch — for a bird

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