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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — a song
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. drill — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. board — a committee
  8. spring — the season
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — of water
  11. bat — the animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — to get on
  14. perch — the fish
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — army training
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. track — a path
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. track — to keep track
  24. board — a flat piece

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