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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. key — in music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. key — the most important part
  23. tube — a container
  24. tear — to rip

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