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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rock — music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. game — a match
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll

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