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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rock — music
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. capital — a city
  10. key — for a lock
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. key — in music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. rock — a stone
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. squash — to crush
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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