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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — finally
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a line
  15. last — final
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — a short time
  18. charge — in control
  19. spell — magic
  20. charge — electricity
  21. last — to go on
  22. lean — thin
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — letters

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