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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spring — the season
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. perch — the fish
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spring — of water
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kick — in football
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — wild animals
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. last — to go on
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a match

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