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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. present — the time now
  3. spring — the season
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in biology
  10. land — a country
  11. present — there
  12. bass — the fish
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. land — to come down
  20. pop — music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — a gift
  23. cell — a phone
  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