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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. row — a line
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — final
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. net — in sport
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. ball — a great time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pass — a permit
  21. net — after costs
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — for catching

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