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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · bat · root · perch · mine · craft · mouse · net

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. band — a music group
  7. bat — the animal
  8. root — of a word
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. net — after costs
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. perch — the fish
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. root — the cause
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mine — for digging
  22. net — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. root — of a plant

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