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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bass — low music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. perch — the fish
  20. content — the amount
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. content — happy
  24. mouse — for a computer

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