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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. branch — a division
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. current — electric
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. current — happening now
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. net — for catching
  16. current — of water
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. branch — of a tree

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