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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · cap · kid · arm · ground · perch · tube · drill

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. drill — army training
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — the earth
  5. squash — the sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ground — a position
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. drill — the tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. drill — a practice
  16. kid — to tease
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cap — a hat
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cap — a lid
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — of ice

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