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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. race — the arms race
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — after costs
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. race — a contest
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chair — a leader
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. race — humankind
  20. stand — to bear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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