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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 · lean · land · wound · lash · ball · perch · saw

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. saw — the tool
  3. game — wild animals
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — ground
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wound — an injury
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. land — a country
  21. ball — a dance
  22. game — a match
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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