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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spell — magic
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mate — to breed
  7. spell — letters
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. date — the fruit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. toast — bread
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. capital — money
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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