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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — the animal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — music
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. swing — to play on
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — of the year

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