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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — after costs
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — a partner
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mate — to breed
  12. net — in sport
  13. march — the month
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mate — a friend
  18. march — music
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — for catching

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