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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bass — the fish
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. shower — rain
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bass — low music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pop — to visit
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pop — soda
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. game — a match
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pop — music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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