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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lean — thin
  3. season — in sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mug — a face
  7. scale — in music
  8. board — to get on
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. mug — a cup
  11. rest — what's left
  12. scale — size or range
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — of the year
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rest — a break
  21. lean — to bend
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. board — a committee
  24. scale — for weighing

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