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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. bass — the fish
  16. net — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — a contest
  21. bass — low music
  22. hand — help
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lie — to recline

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