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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rash — a series
  4. spell — letters
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. rash — hasty
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. plane — a tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — for digging
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — of water
  19. mark — a trace
  20. perch — the fish
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spring — the season
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spring — a coil

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