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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: face · drill · track · can · court · mate · net · perch

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. can — to be able to
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — a practice
  5. track — to keep track
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — in sport
  8. track — a song
  9. perch — the fish
  10. mate — a partner
  11. face — to confront
  12. court — for sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. court — of law
  15. mate — a friend
  16. net — for catching
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. track — a path
  20. court — of a king
  21. can — a tin
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mate — to breed
  24. can — a tin

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