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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — size or range
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. foot — a measure
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. craft — boats
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. dip — to sink
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. row — to paddle
  24. perch — for a bird

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