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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — child
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stock — shares
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. squash — to crush
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. toast — bread
  17. game — a match
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. stock — goods

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