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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: squash · season · deal · chair · row · swing · fork · last

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. deal — to handle
  4. season — in sport
  5. chair — a leader
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. last — final
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — a line
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. last — to go on
  17. squash — to crush
  18. season — of the year
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — to play on
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. swing — in golf

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