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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mug — a face
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mug — to rob
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. squash — to crush
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — finally
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. plane — a tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. last — to go on

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