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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. season — in sport
  6. foot — a measure
  7. capital — a city
  8. perch — the fish
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hand — help
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. season — of the year

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