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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chair — a leader
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. swing — music
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — for digging
  18. dip — to sink
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. chip — to eat
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chair — to sit on

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