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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cap — of ice
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. last — final
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — finally
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. drill — army training
  13. stock — goods
  14. cap — a lid
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cap — a hat
  22. squash — to crush
  23. drill — the tool
  24. plane — a tool

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