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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: toast · game · chair · drill · stick · kid · hand · perch

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. drill — army training
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. toast — bread
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. drill — a practice
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. game — a match
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. chair — a leader
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. hand — in cards

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