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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — a country
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. track — to keep track
  11. shower — rain
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. track — a path
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — wild animals
  18. perch — the fish
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. foot — a measure
  22. land — ground
  23. track — a song
  24. row — to paddle

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