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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hand — help
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pop — soda
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chair — a leader
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pop — music

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