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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: chair · jam · march · cold · club · bark · swing · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. club — a group
  3. swing — in golf
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — music
  8. swing — music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bark — to shout
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. swing — to play on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chair — a leader
  20. club — for dancing
  21. march — the month
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. march — the month

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