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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. land — ground
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. key — for a lock
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — finally
  9. ball — a great time
  10. key — in music
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. ball — a dance
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. perch — the fish
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. land — to come down
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — a country
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. last — to go on
  24. saw — the tool

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