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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: game · board · squash · stem · sharp · net · perch · snap

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a match
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the sport
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — to crush
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. net — in sport
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. net — for catching
  16. board — to get on
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. board — a committee
  20. game — wild animals
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stem — to come from

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