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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 124 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — a match
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — wild animals
  19. season — of the year
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. coach — a trainer

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