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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. scale — in music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — of water
  7. scale — size or range
  8. kid — to tease
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. last — final
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mug — to rob
  15. spring — the season
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. toast — bread
  20. kid — child
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. spring — a coil
  24. last — finally

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