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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.

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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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. last — final
  4. craft — boats
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — finally
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a line of people
  12. perch — the fish
  13. file — a document
  14. mark — a trace
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. net — after costs
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. last — to go on
  23. season — in sport
  24. rush — to hurry

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