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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: race · calf · rash · bass · ground · cell · bay · perch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — low music
  3. race — a contest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ground — crushed
  6. race — humankind
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rash — a series
  13. bass — the fish
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ground — a position
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cell — in biology

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