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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — not warm
  3. roll — a cake
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pop — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cap — of ice
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pop — soda
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cap — a lid
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. squash — to crush
  24. perch — the fish

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