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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wake — a trail
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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