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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. band — a ring
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. suit — clothes
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fork — in a road
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. swing — music
  9. suit — in cards
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. season — of the year
  14. band — a music group
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. perch — the fish
  22. swing — to play on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — the Cold War

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