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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. net — in sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. last — final
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. net — for catching
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bound — obliged
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. net — after costs
  18. pass — to spend time

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