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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. game — a match
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cell — a phone
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. craft — a skill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. perch — the fish
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. shower — to wash
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. shower — rain
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — in biology
  22. craft — boats
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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