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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mark — a grade
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. present — there
  6. rash — hasty
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — to wash
  15. net — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — rain
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rash — a series
  20. date — the fruit
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. perch — the fish
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. perch — for a bird

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