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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — to tease
  4. drill — the tool
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — size or range
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — thin
  16. board — a committee
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. perch — the fish
  21. date — the fruit
  22. lean — to bend
  23. board — to get on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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