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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. row — a line
  8. last — to go on
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — final
  12. hand — help
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. race — humankind
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. race — a contest
  23. mark — a grade
  24. race — the arms race

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