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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — for catching
  3. present — there
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — the time now
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — for digging
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. net — after costs
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — in sport
  16. present — a gift
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. firm — a company
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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