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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spring — the season
  11. perch — the fish
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bass — the fish
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. drill — a practice

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