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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mug — a cup
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kid — child
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — a box
  8. mug — a face
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kid — to tease
  15. present — there
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mug — to rob
  21. present — a gift
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. arm — a part of something

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