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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mine — for digging
  9. press — a publisher
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. press — to push
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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