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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: ball · perch · band · pop · land · cap · can · chest

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ball — a dance
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. land — ground
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cap — a lid
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. pop — to visit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a music group
  14. pop — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — a country
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — soda
  23. cap — a hat
  24. perch — the fish

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