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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ball — a great time
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. row — a line
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — to handle
  19. perch — the fish
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — to paddle
  24. deal — an agreement

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