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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — child
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. last — finally
  10. root — of a plant
  11. rush — hurry
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mate — a friend
  14. root — the cause
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. can — to be able to
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a word
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. last — to go on

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