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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a document
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a tool
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fine — high quality
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fine — all right
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ball — a dance
  23. date — the fruit
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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