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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. ground — a position
  4. tube — a container
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spell — a short time
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spell — magic
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. ground — crushed
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — for golf
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spell — letters
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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