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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a word
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pit — a hole
  12. perch — the fish
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. root — the cause
  16. fine — all right
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. march — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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