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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pound — a weight
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bound — tied together
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bass — low music
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bound — certain

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