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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mug — a face
  6. pop — music
  7. mug — to rob
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. net — for catching
  12. pop — soda
  13. spring — of water
  14. squash — to crush
  15. spring — the season
  16. squash — the sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mug — a cup
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — to visit
  21. net — in sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bat — the animal
  24. perch — the fish

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