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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the fish
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. track — a song
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. capital — money
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. perch — the fish
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. rock — music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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