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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a line of people
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — of water
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. key — for a lock
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. key — in music
  15. mark — a trace
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mark — a grade
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. file — a document
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. spring — the season
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. file — a tool
  24. perch — the fish

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