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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: wound · hand · fall · ruler · pitcher · bowl · perch · racket

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. perch — the fish
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hand — part of the body

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