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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bound — tied together
  11. row — a line
  12. can — a tin
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lean — to bend
  16. can — a tin
  17. game — wild animals
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bound — certain
  20. game — a match
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bound — obliged
  23. can — to be able to
  24. row — a quarrel

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