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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mate — a partner
  4. race — a contest
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mate — a friend
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kid — child
  17. race — humankind
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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