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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. branch — a division
  5. pop — music
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — the fish
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spell — magic
  12. game — a match
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pop — to visit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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