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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — finally
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a ring
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — to go on
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. band — a music group
  19. lean — thin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. perch — the fish
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lean — to bend

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