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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: game · trunk · field · squash · swing · perch · lash · chair

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. squash — the sport
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — wild animals
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. chair — a leader
  11. game — a match
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. field — a subject
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. squash — to crush
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — to play on

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