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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: bank · nail · perch · pitcher · bass · court · rash · swing

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bank — for money
  8. swing — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. swing — to play on
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. court — of law
  14. rash — hasty
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — a series
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bank — for money
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. perch — for a bird

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