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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. drill — a practice
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. band — a music group
  6. fork — in a road
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fine — all right
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — army training
  23. fork — to eat with
  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