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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — happy
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bear — the animal
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bear — the animal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. game — wild animals
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. chair — a leader
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — a match
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. perch — the fish

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