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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. present — the time now
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. perch — the fish
  5. present — there
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rash — hasty
  15. present — a gift
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rash — a series

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