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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rule — a law
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bass — the fish
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a music group
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. rule — government
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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