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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've got to change the light ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. net — in sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — for catching
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cue — a hint
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — after costs
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — magic
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cap — of ice

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