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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — the fish
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bass — low music
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fine — all right
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — farmland
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — the animal

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