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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bass — the fish
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bass — low music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. shower — rain
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chair — a leader
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. hide — to keep secret

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