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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — boats
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. scale — size or range
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. craft — a skill
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. scale — in music
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. racket — a loud noise

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