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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — a friend
  4. last — final
  5. mate — a partner
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — the month
  10. hand — help
  11. march — music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — to go on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. rash — hasty
  20. march — the month
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rash — on the skin

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