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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 120 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: march · swing · mouse · ball · arm · root · perch · game

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. swing — music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. march — music
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ball — a great time
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. root — of a word
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. root — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. swing — in golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. swing — to play on
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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