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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — clothes
  7. spring — the season
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. suit — to fit
  10. fine — high quality
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. band — a music group
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. drill — army training

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