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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — not warm
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. staff — employees
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. can — a tin
  9. lie — to recline
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. staff — employees
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. can — a tin
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mine — an explosive

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