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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a hole
  3. key — in music
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. hand — in cards
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — obliged
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pit — in a race
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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