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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: last · perch · bound · game · net · bat · fan · toast

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bound — certain
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bound — tied together
  16. game — a match
  17. toast — bread
  18. net — in sport
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. net — for catching
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bound — obliged

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