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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: rash · perch · ground · bark · bass · hand · bat · chest

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — help
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rash — a series
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ground — a position
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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