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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. track — to keep track
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. track — a path
  19. net — for catching
  20. track — a song
  21. scale — size or range
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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