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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — of water
  8. swing — in golf
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — to play on
  12. branch — a division
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. swing — music

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