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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. deal — to handle
  7. net — after costs
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. land — ground
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. land — to come down
  13. file — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — a country
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — a division
  21. cue — a signal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a line of people
  24. branch — of a bank

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