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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 116 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: ball · sharp · squash · cap · kick · scale · last · perch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — in football
  8. cap — a hat
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. scale — in music
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — the sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. scale — size or range
  24. squash — to crush

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