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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — a country
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. net — for catching
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. net — in sport
  14. bass — low music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. plane — a tool
  17. land — to come down
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. net — after costs
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. perch — the fish
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — help

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