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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — in sport
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. land — to come down
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — to shout
  14. staff — a stick
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. staff — employees
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. net — after costs
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bear — to put up with

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