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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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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: wind · kick · perch · mine · cue · board · ball · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cue — for pool
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cue — a signal
  15. ball — a great time
  16. board — to get on
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a committee
  24. kick — in football

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