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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — happy
  5. march — the month
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. craft — boats
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. net — for catching
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. craft — a skill
  21. deal — to handle
  22. content — the amount
  23. net — in sport
  24. chair — to sit on

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