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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: perch · dip · net · mine · wound · arm · pop · last

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — final
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — soda
  12. dip — to sink
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — to visit
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — music

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