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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 120 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. race — humankind
  4. bass — the fish
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. game — a match
  8. shower — to wash
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — help
  12. firm — decided
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — low music
  15. race — a contest
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. firm — a company
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. game — wild animals
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. firm — steady
  24. fork — in a road

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