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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. shower — rain
  3. face — to confront
  4. bulb — for light
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. face — part of the head
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — the fish
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — a short time
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — child
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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