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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. key — in music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ground — crushed
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spell — magic
  7. march — music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — a short time
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — letters
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. shower — rain
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. shower — to wash
  24. key — for a lock

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