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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 120 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — magic
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rule — government
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — a law
  14. march — the month
  15. board — a committee
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — the season
  19. board — to get on
  20. march — music
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spell — letters
  24. spring — a coil

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