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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — letters
  3. net — in sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — a short time
  8. march — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. press — a publisher
  13. spell — magic
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — to push
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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