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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. game — wild animals
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stand — to bear
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. drill — army training
  12. game — a match
  13. drill — a practice
  14. current — of water
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. net — after costs
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. drill — the tool
  24. march — the month

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