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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. key — in music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hand — help
  7. key — for a lock
  8. hand — in cards
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. squash — the sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. saw — the tool
  19. perch — the fish
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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