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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. perch — the fish
  6. game — a match
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — not warm
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spell — a short time
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to click
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — steady
  24. perch — for a bird

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