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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cold — not warm
  6. drill — a practice
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. march — music
  14. drill — the tool
  15. game — a match
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. drill — army training
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cold — an illness

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