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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. snap — to click
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — to breed
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. toast — bread
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. perch — the fish
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. dip — to sink
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. game — a match
  23. mate — a partner
  24. perch — for a bird

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