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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pop — music
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — to visit
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — finally
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. club — a group
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ground — a position
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pop — soda
  23. last — final
  24. ground — crushed

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