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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — the fish
  3. dip — to sink
  4. march — the month
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — a trail
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — child
  14. file — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. file — a line of people
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a document
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. capital — money
  22. squash — the sport
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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