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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. lean — thin
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. net — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — a group
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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