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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — finally
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — final
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. can — a tin
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bat — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cell — a phone

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