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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. kid — child
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. shower — to wash
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. perch — the fish
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. net — for catching
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. sharp — clever
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. plane — a tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. net — after costs

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