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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. board — a committee
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — child
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — help
  24. mouse — for a computer

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