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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. date — the fruit
  4. file — a line of people
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — after costs
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — a box
  11. craft — a skill
  12. file — a document
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. perch — the fish
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. craft — boats

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