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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · board · hand · hide · field · bass

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bass — low music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. board — to get on
  6. perch — the fish
  7. field — for sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. board — a committee
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — farmland
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hand — help

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