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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fall — to drop
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. fall — the season
  8. cap — of ice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cap — a lid
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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