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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. fall — to drop
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. fall — the season
  12. net — in sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chip — for betting
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spell — letters
  19. hand — in cards
  20. net — for catching
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — help

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