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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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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: game · bound · club · perch · rest · mine · pop · rash

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pop — music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rash — a series
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pop — soda
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. club — for golf
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — certain
  21. mine — for digging
  22. game — a match
  23. club — a group
  24. perch — the fish

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