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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. squash — the sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — size or range
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — to go on
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. last — finally
  17. face — part of the head
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — to point toward
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. face — to confront
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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