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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — a match
  6. bark — to shout
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — wild animals
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. net — in sport
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pitch — completely
  23. net — after costs
  24. perch — for a bird

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