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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. craft — a skill
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — a leader
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. perch — the fish
  16. last — final
  17. rash — hasty
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — a series

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