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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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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 · face · pop · mine · mouse · bass · race · hand

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — the fish
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. pop — soda
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. race — a contest
  20. face — part of the head
  21. hand — help
  22. face — to point toward
  23. race — humankind
  24. bass — low music

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