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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. land — to come down
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. key — in music
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fall — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a ring
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pit — a hole
  16. key — for a lock
  17. last — to go on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fine — all right
  20. fall — to drop
  21. last — finally
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. fine — high quality

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