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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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 — for a bird
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. swing — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. rush — hurry
  9. spell — letters
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — the arms race
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mark — a trace
  19. spell — a short time
  20. scale — in music
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mark — a grade
  23. perch — for a bird
  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