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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: hand · bark · dip · coach · bass · court · perch · swing

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bark — to shout
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. swing — to play on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — low music
  15. court — of a king
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — the fish

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