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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: clip · band · wax · bark · lean · perch · swing · toast

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lean — to bend
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. toast — bread
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — to cut
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — the fish
  17. swing — music
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — thin
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wax — to grow
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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