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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — a coil
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. perch — the fish
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spring — of water
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spring — the season
  17. club — a group
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. land — to come down
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — a country
  22. club — for golf
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. row — a line

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