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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · cold · perch · saw · spring · calf · charge · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cold — not warm
  4. charge — electricity
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rock — a stone
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. charge — in control
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. charge — a price
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — an illness
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. rock — music
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  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