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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.

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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: spell · game · bat · perch · cue · lean · hand · squash

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. game — wild animals
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cue — a signal
  7. squash — to crush
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cue — for pool
  13. game — a match
  14. lean — thin
  15. spell — letters
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cue — a hint
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lean — to bend
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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