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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: perch · last · foot · wind · swing · chest · fall · mouse

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — to drop
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. swing — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fall — the season

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