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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. perch — the fish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. game — wild animals
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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