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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. root — of a plant
  9. file — a document
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. net — in sport
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. root — the cause
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. net — for catching
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. file — a line of people
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. root — of a word

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