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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. march — the month
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. perch — the fish
  7. net — after costs
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. firm — decided
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. march — music
  15. firm — steady
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — happy
  18. march — the month
  19. firm — a company
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — in sport
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

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