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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — farmland
  14. cell — a phone
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — in biology
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — for sport
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. net — for catching
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — in sport

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