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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. squash — the sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — in cards
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — help
  23. bass — low music
  24. bulb — for light

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