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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. mate — to breed
  4. perch — the fish
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pop — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — a partner
  15. file — a line of people
  16. net — after costs
  17. lean — to bend
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a document

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