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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: rash · sharp · fan · race · pitcher · perch · cell · board

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — a series
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. race — a contest
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — hasty
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cell — a phone
  22. board — to get on
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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