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

Word bank: perch · bear · bass · deal · mark · kid · file · net

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — in sport
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. net — after costs
  8. perch — the fish
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — child
  11. file — a document
  12. mark — a trace
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bass — low music
  24. kid — to tease

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