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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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Word bank
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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: ruler · mine · tear · perch · swing · march

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. swing — to play on
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  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