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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: ruler · kid · season · perch · stock · jam · ball · chest

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. kid — child
  3. season — in sport
  4. kid — to tease
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — shares
  14. ball — a dance
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stock — goods

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