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

Word bank: nail · cold · firm · swing · fall · perch · chip · hide

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. firm — a company
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. chip — to eat
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — to drop
  15. firm — decided
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — music
  22. chip — for betting
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — not warm

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