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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · march · stick · ball · current · bass · perch · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. ball — a dance
  6. shower — rain
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — to wash
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — of water
  18. bass — low music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. current — electric
  22. perch — the fish
  23. current — happening now
  24. march — music

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