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

Word bank: lash · last · row · perch · cold · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. 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. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — in golf
  5. last — finally
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. last — final
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. row — a line
  18. 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