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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in biology
  7. charge — in control
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. season — in sport
  11. charge — a price
  12. perch — the fish
  13. charge — electricity
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. season — to add flavour

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