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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. land — ground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. land — a country
  6. net — after costs
  7. land — to come down
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. net — in sport
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — the fish
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — for catching
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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