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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — a partner
  8. march — music
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mate — to breed
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bound — certain
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bound — obliged
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

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