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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — hurry
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mark — a grade
  7. face — to confront
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wake — a trail
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. face — to point toward
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — the fish
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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