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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. spell — letters
  3. perch — the fish
  4. spell — a short time
  5. kick — in football
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. net — for catching
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spell — magic
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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