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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: pop · perch · wake · game · wound · rush · content · cap

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cap — a hat
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pop — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — soda
  12. rush — hurry
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. game — a match
  20. content — the amount
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  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