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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. perch — the fish
  3. board — a committee
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — to get on
  7. squash — to crush
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bass — low music
  12. ground — a position
  13. branch — a division
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — crushed
  24. squash — the sport

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