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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. can — to be able to
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a hint
  13. march — music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cue — a signal
  16. can — a tin
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. can — a tin
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cue — for pool
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — for digging
  24. march — the month

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