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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mate — a friend
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spell — magic
  11. pitch — completely
  12. can — a tin
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rash — a series
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ground — a position
  23. spell — letters
  24. ground — crushed

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