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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — low music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cue — a hint
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — help
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bass — the fish

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