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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. net — for catching
  4. wind — moving air
  5. perch — the fish
  6. net — after costs
  7. cap — of ice
  8. key — in music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. key — for a lock
  12. mate — to breed
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cap — a hat
  15. land — to come down
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — in sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — a friend
  24. land — a country

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