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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — child
  3. press — newspapers
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bass — low music
  6. perch — the fish
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. press — to push
  19. drill — the tool
  20. march — music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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