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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — final
  5. scale — size or range
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. last — finally
  14. game — a match
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. scale — in music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. can — to be able to
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — to go on

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