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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. date — the fruit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. season — of the year
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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