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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: ground · bear · arm · mate · perch · net · wound · chest

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mate — a partner
  10. ground — a position
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chest — a box
  14. mate — to breed
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. perch — the fish
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. net — in sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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