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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. ground — the earth
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — music
  7. ground — crushed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bulb — for light
  10. ground — a position
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. perch — the fish
  14. present — there
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. kick — in football
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pop — soda
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bulb — for light
  21. present — the time now
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pop — to visit
  24. leaves — to go away

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