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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — a position
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fine — all right
  8. root — the cause
  9. net — after costs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. perch — the fish
  16. net — in sport
  17. root — of a word
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fine — high quality
  21. root — of a plant
  22. game — a match
  23. fine — a penalty
  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