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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hand — help
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rest — what's left
  5. face — to confront
  6. sharp — clever
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — the season
  10. rest — a break
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — the fish
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — a coil
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. prune — to trim

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