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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rash — a series
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rash — hasty
  7. last — final
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. sharp — clever

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