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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. bound — tied together
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bound — obliged
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bowl — a football final

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