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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lean — to bend
  3. rest — a break
  4. date — the fruit
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. game — a match
  11. band — a music group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rest — what's left
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rash — hasty
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lean — to rest against

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