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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. charge — electricity
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mine — for digging
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. charge — in control
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — a price

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