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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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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: perch · bowl · march · rock · game · mouse · pound · kid

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rock — music
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. march — music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rock — to move gently

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