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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitch — completely
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — a position
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — thin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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