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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bass — the fish
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — low music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. toast — bread
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — the fish
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. band — a music group
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tear — from crying
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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