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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — a city
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — money
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ground — the earth
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. ground — crushed
  24. row — a line

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