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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — wild animals
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — after costs
  5. last — finally
  6. net — for catching
  7. game — a match
  8. last — final
  9. cap — a hat
  10. net — in sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. last — to go on
  13. kick — in football
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cap — of ice
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. shower — rain
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cap — a lid

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