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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. season — of the year
  3. toast — bread
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — the tool
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. perch — the fish
  8. season — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a ring
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — the animal
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. row — a line
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a music group
  23. row — a quarrel
  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