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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. track — a path
  3. chair — a leader
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. track — a song
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bass — low music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bass — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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