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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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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: cold · rush · date · perch · scale · race · hide · present

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — a contest
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. date — the fruit
  9. scale — in music
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. present — there
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. perch — the fish
  19. scale — size or range
  20. present — the time now
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — a gift
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rush — hurry

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