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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — of the year
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. land — to come down
  9. last — to go on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — ground
  12. rest — a break
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — a country
  16. season — in sport
  17. present — there
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ruler — for measuring

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