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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — for digging
  3. game — wild animals
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a match
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. season — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fork — in a road
  21. season — of the year
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. dip — to sink

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