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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · bowl · bass · perch · ground · field · arm · clip

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ground — the earth
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bass — the fish
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — a video
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — farmland
  18. ground — a position
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bass — low music

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