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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 116 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: perch · band · racket · last · bat · rush · fan · pop

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a music group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pop — to visit
  17. last — final
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. last — finally
  22. pop — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fan — to cool the air

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