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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bound — obliged
  10. vault — a safe
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. spell — a short time
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bank — for money

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