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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ball — a great time
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — of water
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — the season
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cap — a hat
  16. ball — a dance
  17. chest — a box
  18. cap — a lid
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chair — a professorship

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