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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. saw — the tool
  3. firm — decided
  4. fine — high quality
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a music group
  7. last — to go on
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fine — all right
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — finally
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. perch — the fish
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — the tool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — final
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pitch — completely

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