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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bass — low music

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