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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: ball · perch · capital · rest · kid · trunk · date · bowl

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. ball — a great time
  7. kid — child
  8. ball — a dance
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. ball — a round shape
  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