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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ball — a dance
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cap — a hat
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ball — a great time
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cap — of ice
  15. branch — a division
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cap — a lid
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to click
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. land — ground

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