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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. drill — the tool
  9. perch — the fish
  10. craft — a skill
  11. band — a music group
  12. craft — boats
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. drill — army training

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