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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 116 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — a group
  3. drill — a practice
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — finally
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. scale — in music
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. club — for golf
  17. drill — army training
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. club — for dancing

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