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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. land — ground
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — a match
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. game — wild animals
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. kid — child
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pass — a permit
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. row — to paddle
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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