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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: perch · saw · trunk · game · club · sharp · present · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. club — for golf
  6. present — a gift
  7. club — for dancing
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cold — not warm
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. sharp — clever

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