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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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mark — a trace
  3. row — a line
  4. foot — a measure
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. bat — the animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mark — a grade
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bank — for money
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bank — of a river
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bank — for money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — help
  23. row — to paddle
  24. foot — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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