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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. swing — in golf
  3. court — for sport
  4. land — a country
  5. court — of a king
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rush — hurry
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. swing — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. court — of law
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bulb — for light

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