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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. perch — the fish
  4. kid — child
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. spell — letters
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rock — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. date — the fruit
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spell — magic
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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