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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bound — certain
  3. present — there
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. squash — the sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bound — tied together
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kid — child
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. present — a gift
  15. bound — obliged
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — a hat
  18. squash — to crush
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. present — the time now

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