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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. perch — the fish
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bank — for money
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cap — a hat
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cap — of ice
  12. row — a line
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bank — for money
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fine — all right
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. squash — to crush
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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