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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — the season
  6. cell — in biology
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — the time now
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of a king
  17. last — finally
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. present — there
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — final

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