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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ball — a great time
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — child
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chip — for betting
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ground — a position
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cell — in biology

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