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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bass — the fish
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — music
  7. race — a contest
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spell — letters
  12. hand — help
  13. band — a ring
  14. spell — magic
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. spell — a short time
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. march — the month

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