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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: cell · fork · bowl · perch · squash · bear · hand · game

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cell — a phone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. game — a match
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cell — in biology
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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