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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. pop — music
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — soda
  14. game — a match
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. season — of the year
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rest — a break
  21. pop — to visit
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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