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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.

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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cap — a lid
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. last — finally
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. foot — a measure
  17. last — to go on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. last — final
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. perch — for a bird

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