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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — a match
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. perch — the fish
  7. kid — child
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. key — for a lock
  13. net — after costs
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. squash — to crush
  17. game — wild animals
  18. net — for catching
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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