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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · ground · toast · deal · row · perch · cold · mark

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. toast — bread
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mark — a trace
  21. ground — a position
  22. rash — a series
  23. cold — an illness
  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