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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. date — the fruit
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ball — a dance
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kick — in football
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. ball — a great time
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — child
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. squash — to crush

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