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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. court — for sport
  3. chip — to eat
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. perch — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. court — of a king
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — of law
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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