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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. fall — the season
  2. perch — the fish
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. swing — in golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cold — not warm
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. squash — to crush
  19. deal — to handle
  20. squash — the sport
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — to play on
  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