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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a music group
  3. spring — of water
  4. row — a line
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. season — of the year
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spring — the season
  10. club — for dancing
  11. perch — the fish
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. club — a group
  14. row — to paddle
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. band — a ring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — a coil

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