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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.

Make a worksheet

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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. scale — in music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. scale — size or range
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. last — final
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rest — a break
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — for weighing

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