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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — help
  4. lie — to recline
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. hand — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — the earth
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a line
  15. ground — a position
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. row — to paddle
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. hand — part of the body

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