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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cap — of ice
  3. row — a line
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — for catching
  14. cap — a hat
  15. net — after costs
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. firm — steady
  21. cap — a lid
  22. net — in sport
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — the season

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