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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. object — to protest
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — the animal
  7. press — to push
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cell — a phone
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rash — a series
  13. object — a thing
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bear — the animal
  16. perch — the fish
  17. object — an aim
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — rain
  22. press — a publisher
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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