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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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. club — for golf
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. net — after costs
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rush — hurry
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wind — moving air

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