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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — a position
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — an amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. last — final
  15. perch — the fish
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ground — the earth
  21. craft — boats
  22. degree — from a university
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. last — to go on

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