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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: game · bowl · lean · craft · kid · perch · content · pound

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. craft — boats
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — a match
  15. content — the amount
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lean — thin
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bowl — a football final

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