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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. game — a match
  10. cap — of ice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spring — of water
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rock — music
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mate — to breed

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