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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — the fish
  3. club — for golf
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — the earth
  13. file — a tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ground — a position
  17. file — a document
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chip — to eat
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. chip — for betting

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