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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 124 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — after costs
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. swing — in golf
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kick — in football
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. swing — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — to play on

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