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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 116 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: wake · firm · game · squash · pound · land · spring · perch

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. perch — the fish
  3. firm — steady
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — a match
  7. land — a country
  8. firm — a company
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. land — ground
  11. squash — the sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wake — a trail
  14. spring — of water
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — a coil
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. firm — decided
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — the season

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