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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. foot — a measure
  6. perch — the fish
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. press — a publisher
  18. swing — music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ball — a dance

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