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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. swing — to play on
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — money
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spell — magic
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. capital — a city
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spell — letters
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spell — a short time
  22. dip — to sink
  23. date — the fruit
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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