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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rash — hasty
  3. race — humankind
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. squash — to crush
  9. race — a contest
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — shares
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stock — goods
  16. dip — to sink
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. swing — to play on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. swing — in golf
  24. race — the arms race

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