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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — in sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. net — for catching
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. perch — for a bird

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