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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. date — the fruit
  3. game — a match
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. club — for golf
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. game — wild animals
  11. club — a group
  12. scale — in music
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cap — a lid
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. saw — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — not warm
  24. club — for dancing

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