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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. foot — a measure
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rock — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. perch — the fish
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — an illness

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