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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cue — a signal
  10. track — a song
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cue — a hint
  13. track — a path
  14. mine — for digging
  15. last — to go on
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cue — for pool
  21. last — final
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. hand — help

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