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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: game · rock · hide · row · saw · squash · kid · perch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kid — child
  5. game — a match
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. row — a line
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. squash — the sport
  24. hide — to keep secret

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