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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · season · cap · fall · perch · last · board · hand

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — the fish
  3. club — for golf
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — in sport
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cap — of ice
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. last — final
  14. board — to get on
  15. season — of the year
  16. fall — to drop
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — to go on
  19. board — a committee
  20. club — a group
  21. last — finally
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. fall — the season
  24. cap — a lid

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