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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spell — a short time
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. scale — in music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — size or range
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spell — magic
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. snap — to click
  18. spell — letters

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