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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to click
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pit — a hole
  10. race — humankind
  11. pit — in a race
  12. perch — the fish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — after costs
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. race — a contest
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chair — a professorship

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