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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. land — to come down
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chip — to eat
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chip — for betting
  15. land — ground
  16. game — a match
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. field — for sport
  20. kid — to tease
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — to recline
  24. field — farmland

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