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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: swing · pitcher · bat · bark · wave · drill · perch · straw

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. swing — music
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — army training
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bark — to shout
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — a practice
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. drill — the tool
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. swing — in golf

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