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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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Word bank
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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: bowl · foot · cue · cell · pitcher · object · roll · perch

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. object — an aim
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. roll — a cake
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. roll — a list
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cue — a signal
  18. object — a thing
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cell — in a prison

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