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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rock — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. date — the fruit
  13. kid — child
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. last — to go on
  18. rock — a stone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. last — final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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