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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. present — the time now
  3. net — after costs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — in sport
  6. pop — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. net — for catching
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. present — there
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wax — to grow
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pop — to visit
  19. season — of the year
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. present — a gift

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