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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bass — low music
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bank — for money
  13. rush — hurry
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — not warm
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bank — for money
  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