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

Word bank: swing · kid · suit · net · perch · cold · squash · race

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — for catching
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — child
  7. suit — clothes
  8. suit — in cards
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — humankind
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — the sport
  17. swing — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. swing — in golf
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — the arms race
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. suit — to fit
  24. squash — to crush

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