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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. foot — a measure
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rush — hurry
  8. drill — a practice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. perch — the fish
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. row — a line
  21. craft — boats
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rush — a thrill

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