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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. perch — the fish
  3. date — the fruit
  4. chair — a leader
  5. squash — the sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. season — in sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. season — of the year
  16. squash — to crush
  17. object — a thing
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — rain
  22. object — an aim
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. date — on the calendar

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