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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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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: roll · bat · date · squash · perch · kid · bear · toast

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. roll — a list
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the sport
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. squash — to crush
  9. perch — the fish
  10. toast — bread
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. kid — to tease
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. roll — a cake
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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