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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. last — finally
  3. squash — the sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. key — the most important part
  7. club — for golf
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — an illness
  10. perch — the fish
  11. last — to go on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. key — for a lock
  17. last — final
  18. key — in music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. club — a group
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. club — for dancing

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