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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. last — final
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. last — finally
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. cell — in biology
  22. file — a tool
  23. last — to go on
  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