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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: kid · perch · ball · club · squash · ground · game · ruler

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. squash — the sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — child
  9. game — wild animals
  10. club — for dancing
  11. ball — a great time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. club — for golf
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ball — a dance
  17. squash — to crush
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ground — crushed
  21. perch — the fish
  22. ground — a position
  23. club — a group
  24. ball — a round shape

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