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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. game — a match
  11. press — to push
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — the month
  14. fork — in a road
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. tube — the underground
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. march — 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