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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 · content · chair · bank · perch · wave · club · pitcher

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bank — for money
  4. chair — a leader
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — happy
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. club — for golf
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. content — the amount
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. perch — the fish
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wave — with your hand

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