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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. last — final
  3. squash — to crush
  4. firm — a company
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pound — a weight
  7. perch — the fish
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. last — finally
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — to go on
  14. firm — decided
  15. season — of the year
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — the sport
  19. firm — steady
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. jam — a tight spot

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