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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rest — a break
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bound — tied together
  8. swing — music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bound — certain
  12. rest — what's left
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a line
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — an injury

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