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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. staff — a stick
  3. net — for catching
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — the animal
  7. perch — the fish
  8. staff — employees
  9. roll — a cake
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — to bear
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — employees
  14. net — in sport
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pound — a weight
  20. roll — a list
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. net — after costs
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wind — to turn a key

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