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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rash — a series
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. lean — thin
  9. board — to get on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lean — to bend
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — to crush
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — to go on
  22. rash — hasty
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. last — finally

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