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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: tube · mine · perch · bat · court · net · nail · file

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bat — the animal
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — of law
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tube — a container
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a line of people
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a document

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