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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. march — music
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tube — the underground
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mate — a partner
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lie — to recline
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kick — in football
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. tube — a container
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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