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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. pass — a permit
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. file — a document
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a tool
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bear — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ball — a dance
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. perch — the fish
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a line of people
  23. last — final
  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