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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bear — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. race — a contest
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. race — humankind
  16. kick — in football
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. hand — help
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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