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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: land · perch · foot · band · kid · rule · squash · cabinet

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. foot — a measure
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rule — a law
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a music group
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. land — a country
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rule — government
  23. land — to come down
  24. band — a ring

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