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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cue — a signal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cue — for pool
  10. perch — the fish
  11. band — a ring
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cue — a hint
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a music group
  19. rock — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — child
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rock — a stone

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