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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — after costs
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a document
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kick — in football
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pound — a weight
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — for catching
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. net — in sport
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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