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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 120 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
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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: lie · spell · swing · chair · squash · kid · track · spring

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. squash — the sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. spell — a short time
  6. swing — music
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. track — a song
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kid — child
  12. spell — magic
  13. track — a path
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spell — letters
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spring — the season

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