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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: fan · perch · kick · swing · cold · chip · mouse · prune

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kick — in football
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chip — for betting
  7. perch — the fish
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — to eat
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. perch — for a bird

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