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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitch — completely
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. hand — help
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — after costs
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. scale — in music
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — the fish
  15. net — for catching
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — size or range
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. perch — for a bird

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