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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — the fish
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. dip — to sink
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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