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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — of water
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mark — a trace
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pop — music
  15. swing — music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — in music
  18. spring — the season
  19. pit — in a race
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mug — a face
  24. scale — size or range

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