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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: bass · wake · cap · bat · lie · perch · straw · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cap — a hat
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bass — low music
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cap — a lid
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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