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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: bass · plane · wind · perch · straw · bear · rash · drill

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bass — low music
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — army training
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bear — the animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rash — a series
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bear — the animal
  20. plane — a tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wind — to turn a key

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