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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. present — there
  4. lean — to bend
  5. net — in sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pop — soda
  8. lean — thin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — for catching
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pop — to visit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — low music
  21. pop — music
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. net — after costs
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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