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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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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 · scale · season · present · wind · face · perch · sharp

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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 — the fish
  2. sharp — clever
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. scale — in music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. face — to point toward
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. season — in sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — size or range
  18. season — of the year
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — child
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to confront
  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