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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 116 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.

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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: racket · rock · chair · bass · perch · snap · cold · sharp

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rock — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rock — a stone
  6. sharp — clever
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. snap — to click
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. perch — the fish
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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