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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. perch — the fish
  3. squash — to crush
  4. swing — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — a video
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — a leader

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