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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: chest · foot · swing · ruler · squash · capital · perch · fall

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. capital — a city
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. chest — a box
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. foot — a measure
  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