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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.

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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: straw · bass · march · perch · present · plane · fork · lash

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. present — the time now
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. present — a gift
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. fork — in a road
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bass — low music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. present — there
  23. bass — the fish
  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