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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. squash — to crush
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a hat
  6. scale — in music
  7. race — the arms race
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. scale — size or range
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cap — of ice
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. squash — the sport
  17. perch — the fish
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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