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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · date · perch · bound · hide · net

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — after costs
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bound — certain
  9. net — for catching
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bound — obliged
  18. net — in sport

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