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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pass — a permit
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cell — a phone

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