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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spell — letters
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spell — magic
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. perch — for a bird

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