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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lean — to bend
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. swing — music
  11. last — final
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. swing — in golf
  18. season — of the year
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pound — a weight
  24. plane — a tool

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