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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spring — the season
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bass — the fish
  8. net — for catching
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — a hat
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. mate — a partner
  13. perch — the fish
  14. net — in sport
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bass — low music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — of water
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. net — after costs
  24. saw — the tool

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