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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: capital · perch · row · net · bat · fork · mate · hide

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. net — in sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. fork — in a road
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — a line
  11. net — after costs
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mate — a partner
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a city
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. net — for catching
  22. row — to paddle
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mate — a friend

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