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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. band — a ring
  3. drill — army training
  4. stock — shares
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bass — low music
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — goods
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. racket — for tennis

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