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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. band — a music group
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — help
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. dip — to sink
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. kid — child

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