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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. net — after costs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. perch — the fish
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — in sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. net — for catching
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — for sport
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. court — of law
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a football final

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