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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. net — after costs
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. net — in sport
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. can — a tin
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chip — to eat
  9. can — a tin
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. perch — the fish
  21. shower — rain
  22. bat — the animal
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. net — for catching

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