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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. perch — the fish
  8. spring — the season
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spring — a coil
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — a tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. band — a music group
  20. foot — a measure
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. band — a rubber band

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