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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. net — after costs
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — crushed
  8. squash — the sport
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pound — a weight
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. deal — to handle
  14. ground — a position
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. game — a match
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. net — in sport
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ground — the earth
  24. game — a kind of play

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