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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · squash · spell · lie · perch · swing · cell · capital

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. squash — to crush
  3. swing — to play on
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. spell — a short time
  7. ground — a position
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. swing — music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spell — letters
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — magic
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ground — crushed
  18. capital — money
  19. ground — the earth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — a city

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