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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. staff — employees
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bank — for money
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — of the year
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. prune — to trim
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bank — of a river
  11. staff — employees
  12. season — in sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. staff — a stick
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. scale — size or range
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — the amount
  19. scale — in music
  20. content — happy
  21. net — for catching
  22. bank — for money
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. net — after costs

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