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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pop — soda
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. net — after costs
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — in cards
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rash — a series
  21. deal — to handle
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. land — ground
  24. pop — to visit

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