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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. toast — bread
  5. roll — a cake
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. can — a tin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — rain
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. roll — a list
  23. shower — to wash
  24. toast — the most admired

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