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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. row — to paddle
  8. net — for catching
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — to push
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. row — a line
  15. net — after costs
  16. press — a publisher
  17. net — in sport
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — help
  20. press — newspapers
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tube — the underground

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