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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. perch — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — a division
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. capital — a city
  24. ball — a dance

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