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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. drill — the tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — the season
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — the fish
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. net — for catching
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. drill — army training
  18. tear — from crying
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — in sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. safe — out of danger

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