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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. board — to get on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — to play on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. rash — a series
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. board — a committee

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