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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — finally
  3. mate — a friend
  4. last — final
  5. can — a tin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. can — a tin
  8. spell — magic
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spell — a short time
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fine — all right
  21. mate — to breed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — to go on
  24. spell — letters

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