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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ground — a position
  5. toast — bread
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. ruler — a monarch

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