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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. present — a gift
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. perch — the fish
  11. tear — to rip
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. roll — a list
  15. shower — to wash
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — rain
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  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