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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: board · squash · sharp · cold · perch · game · wound · lean

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — a match
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — an illness
  13. game — wild animals
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. board — to get on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. sharp — clever
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. board — a committee
  20. squash — the sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — thin
  24. squash — to crush

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