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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. swing — music

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