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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. saw — the tool
  5. perch — the fish
  6. mug — a cup
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — final
  9. shower — rain
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mug — a face
  13. shower — to wash
  14. last — finally
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bound — certain
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mug — to rob
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — to go on

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