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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 120 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. club — for golf
  5. cap — of ice
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. club — for dancing
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cap — a lid
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — the sport
  19. club — a group
  20. swing — music
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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