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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tube — a container
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tube — the underground
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. land — to come down
  11. saw — the tool
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. saw — the tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — ground
  19. foot — a measure
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kid — child
  23. land — a country
  24. march — music

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