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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: cap · perch · ball · tube · bound · cold · mouse · net

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bound — certain
  12. net — after costs
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cap — a lid
  18. net — in sport
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — for catching
  24. tube — the underground

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