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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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. pitch — completely
  4. field — for sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fine — high quality
  10. net — for catching
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fine — all right
  18. net — in sport
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. deal — to handle

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