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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 116 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
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. kid — child
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. track — a path
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — a song
  15. season — of the year
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rest — what's left
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rest — a break
  21. season — in sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. track — to keep track
  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