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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. net — after costs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. roll — a cake
  6. firm — steady
  7. roll — a list
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — ground
  10. kid — to tease
  11. saw — the tool
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. kid — child
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. land — to come down
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. fall — the season
  23. perch — the fish
  24. land — a country

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