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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pound — a weight
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — to paddle
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. row — a line
  16. squash — to crush
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. toast — bread
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — of your body

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