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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — of ice
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pop — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pop — to visit
  12. face — to confront
  13. pop — soda
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tube — a container
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a hat
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cap — a lid
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. tube — in a tire

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