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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. perch — the fish
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — money
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bore — to tire
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. last — final
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. date — the fruit
  14. last — finally
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — a city
  18. bore — to drill
  19. last — to go on
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. march — the month
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

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