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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — the earth
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spell — letters
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. perch — the fish
  9. kick — in football
  10. spell — magic
  11. stock — goods
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stock — shares
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. ground — a position
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. swing — to play on
  22. last — to go on
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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