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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. lean — thin
  3. net — for catching
  4. swing — in golf
  5. club — for golf
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. club — for dancing
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to bend
  14. court — for sport
  15. club — a group
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. court — of law
  18. swing — to play on
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — after costs
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — music

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