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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: mine · jam · bat · perch · ground · fork · net · roll

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. roll — a list
  4. ground — the earth
  5. roll — a cake
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. net — for catching
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. net — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. perch — the fish
  21. fork — in a road
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bat — in an idiom

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