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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. row — a line
  5. pit — a hole
  6. spring — a coil
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wake — a trail
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. ball — a great time
  16. date — the fruit
  17. ball — a dance
  18. spring — the season
  19. foot — a measure
  20. spring — of water
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. perch — the fish
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. foot — part of the body

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