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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. spell — a short time
  3. toast — bread
  4. scale — size or range
  5. spell — magic
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kid — child
  13. scale — in music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spell — letters

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