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

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. swing — in golf
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bulb — for light
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  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