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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. roll — a list
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. shower — rain
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. roll — a cake
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kid — to tease
  24. perch — the fish

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