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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. race — humankind
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bass — low music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. key — in music
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. key — the most important part
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. field — a subject
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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