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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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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: bowl · club · pit · perch · cold · bass · wound · wake

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. club — for dancing
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bass — the fish
  5. club — a group
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pit — a hole
  14. club — for golf
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — low music
  24. wound — an injury

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