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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. net — for catching
  3. bat — the animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. spring — of water
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. shower — to wash
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — the season
  13. net — in sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. toast — bread
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. staff — a stick
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — a coil

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