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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rush — hurry
  5. squash — the sport
  6. dip — to sink
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. degree — from a university
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — an amount
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — finally
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pound — a weight

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