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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. root — of a plant
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — of ice
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. spell — letters
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cap — a lid
  15. race — a contest
  16. root — the cause
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cap — a hat
  20. race — humankind
  21. root — of a word
  22. chip — to eat
  23. spell — magic
  24. perch — for a bird

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