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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. squash — to crush
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — for digging
  14. squash — the sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — to protest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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