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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — finally
  3. pound — a weight
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. net — after costs
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. net — for catching
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bear — the animal
  13. last — final
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. last — to go on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fine — high quality

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