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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. hand — help
  2. net — in sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. shower — rain
  5. net — after costs
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. scale — in music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. net — for catching
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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