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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a ring
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pop — music
  7. hand — help
  8. pop — to visit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hand — in cards
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pop — soda
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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