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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cap — of ice
  3. perch — the fish
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — for digging
  9. tube — a container
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wake — a trail
  12. roll — a list
  13. cap — a lid
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. wake — before a funeral

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