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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. band — a music group
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — magic
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. spell — letters
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. date — the fruit
  17. band — a ring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spell — a short time

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