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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. perch — the fish
  6. clip — for paper
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bass — the instrument

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