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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. ground — the earth
  3. swing — in golf
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ground — a position
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — crushed
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cold — an illness
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. saw — the tool
  24. roll — a list

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