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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. capital — a city
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — the sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. board — to get on
  18. content — the amount
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. content — happy
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. board — a committee
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. perch — for a bird

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