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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — in sport
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. march — music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. net — for catching
  7. bass — the fish
  8. club — for dancing
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — low music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — in music
  15. hand — help
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — size or range
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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