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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: wax · cell · rule · swing · fork · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — to play on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fork — in a road
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wax — in the ear
  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