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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.

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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. can — a tin
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ground — a position
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pop — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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