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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — for catching
  8. perch — the fish
  9. net — in sport
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — letters
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. net — after costs
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. mug — a cup

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