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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. craft — boats
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — the animal
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — temperature
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bat — in an idiom

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