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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spell — a short time
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fork — in a road
  23. craft — boats
  24. squash — to crush

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