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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spell — magic
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. game — a match
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spell — letters
  9. mine — for digging
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. drill — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. drill — army training
  16. net — in sport
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stand — to bear
  19. net — for catching
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. net — after costs
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — a short time

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