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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. foot — a measure
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lie — to recline
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. coach — a trainer

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