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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. squash — to crush
  5. march — the month
  6. press — a publisher
  7. swing — to play on
  8. row — to paddle
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. march — music
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a line
  20. press — to push
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. fall — the season

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