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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — after costs
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. toast — bread
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. drill — army training
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — for paper
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. net — in sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. scale — in music
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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