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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: row · bat · perch · straw · season · temple · pop · scale

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. season — in sport
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pop — to visit
  11. row — a line
  12. scale — size or range
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. season — of the year
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — to paddle
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — soda
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pop — music
  24. scale — in 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