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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. row — a line
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — a short time
  9. march — music
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. row — to paddle
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cue — a hint
  19. last — final
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cue — for pool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cue — a signal
  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