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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. march — the month
  3. club — a group
  4. perch — the fish
  5. squash — the sport
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. squash — to crush
  13. club — for golf
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. capital — a city
  24. march — 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