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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pop — soda
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — help
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pop — music
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bound — certain

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