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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — to confront
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fork — in a road
  6. face — to point toward
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pit — in a race
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pit — a hole
  20. scale — size or range
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fork — to eat with

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