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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fine — all right
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. shower — rain
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. key — the most important part
  9. perch — the fish
  10. shower — to wash
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a city
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fine — high quality
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — money
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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