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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — an injury

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