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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. file — a tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spell — a short time
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. game — wild animals
  8. face — part of the head
  9. perch — the fish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — to point toward
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bear — the animal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. file — a line of people
  20. face — to confront
  21. bear — the animal
  22. game — a match
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a document

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