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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — in cards
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. last — final
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — the animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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