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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. game — a match
  5. stock — shares
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pitch — completely
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — child
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cell — in a prison
  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