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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: mark · pass · chest · perch · cap · cell · bat · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — a box
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mark — a grade
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — in sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cap — a lid

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