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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. perch — the fish
  4. file — a tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. mate — to breed
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. saw — the tool
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. net — after costs
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. scale — in music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a document
  24. scale — size or range

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