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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. capital — a city
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — to tire
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — help
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — of water
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mate — a friend
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — low 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