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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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468
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — rain
  4. pit — in a race
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — a video
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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