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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. mark — a trace
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — final
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. press — a publisher
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. last — finally
  15. press — to push
  16. mark — a grade
  17. press — newspapers
  18. calf — a young animal

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