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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. club — for golf
  3. can — a tin
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. club — a group
  10. branch — a division
  11. club — for dancing
  12. squash — the sport
  13. can — to be able to
  14. root — the cause
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. root — of a word
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bat — the animal
  24. can — a tin

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