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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kid — to tease
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — thin
  11. row — to paddle
  12. dip — to sink
  13. perch — the fish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. date — the fruit
  19. row — a line
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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