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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — to paddle
  16. craft — boats
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — the amount
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. row — a line
  21. craft — a skill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. content — happy
  24. bound — obliged

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