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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — of water
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. track — a song
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spring — the season
  11. hand — help
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. perch — the fish
  15. spell — a short time
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. track — a path

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