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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: pop · cold · perch · race · net · fan · nail · bay

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. race — a contest
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pop — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pop — soda
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. race — humankind
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cold — not warm
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. net — for catching
  24. nail — for a hammer

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