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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. swing — in golf
  3. season — in sport
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. scale — in music
  6. swing — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — to play on
  9. season — of the year
  10. board — a committee
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — help
  15. board — to get on
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. game — a match
  23. scale — size or range
  24. perch — for a bird

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