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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · swing · bass · mine · perch · can · pop · net

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. pop — soda
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pop — music
  9. bass — low music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — after costs
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bass — the fish
  19. shower — rain
  20. can — to be able to
  21. mine — for digging
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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