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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 120 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: ground · spring · saw · rock · perch · object · chest · net

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — an aim
  3. perch — the fish
  4. spring — a coil
  5. object — to protest
  6. ground — crushed
  7. object — a thing
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rock — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. net — for catching
  13. rock — a stone
  14. net — after costs
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. net — in sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — of water
  24. ground — a position

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