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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.

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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lie — to recline
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. swing — music

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