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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: bay · net · wake · deal · game · perch · mouse · cold

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. game — a match
  9. deal — to handle
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wake — a trail
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. net — for catching
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. perch — the fish
  24. net — after costs

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