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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. game — a match
  7. bound — certain
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pitch — completely
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — humankind
  22. bound — tied together
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — to paddle

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