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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — in biology
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. band — a ring
  8. swing — music
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. band — a music group
  13. pound — a weight
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fork — a garden tool

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