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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — the animal
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — the fish
  11. object — to protest
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. band — a music group
  15. object — an aim
  16. bass — the fish
  17. scale — in music
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. band — a ring
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. object — a thing

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