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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. net — for catching
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. foot — the bottom

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