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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. can — a tin
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. object — to protest
  7. content — happy
  8. clip — for paper
  9. object — a thing
  10. can — a tin
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. object — an aim
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. can — to be able to
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. content — the amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. ruler — a monarch

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