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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. root — of a word
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — rain
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bass — low music
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. can — a tin
  16. root — the cause
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. can — to be able to
  22. season — of the year
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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