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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — in sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — to come down
  8. present — the time now
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. band — a ring
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. perch — the fish
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ground — a position
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ground — crushed
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — there

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