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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — in sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. can — a tin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bass — low music
  11. net — for catching
  12. cell — in biology
  13. net — after costs
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. can — a tin
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bass — the fish
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cell — in a prison

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