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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. hand — in cards
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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