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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. present — a gift
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. present — the time now
  7. cap — a lid
  8. face — to confront
  9. spring — of water
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rash — a series
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — there
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. perch — for a bird

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