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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: sharp · saw · capital · bass · hand · bowl · mine · perch

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bass — low music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a football final

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