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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 124 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bass — the fish
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. file — a tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. drill — army training
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bass — low music
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — help

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