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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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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — in golf
  4. mug — a face
  5. club — for golf
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. club — for dancing
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. rash — a series
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mug — a cup
  18. club — a group
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. fine — all right
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — music
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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