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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. net — for catching
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. net — in sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pop — music
  9. pass — a permit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. pop — soda
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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