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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 · land · key · perch · lash · staff · swing · cell

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. staff — a stick
  4. land — a country
  5. staff — employees
  6. perch — the fish
  7. key — for a lock
  8. chest — a box
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. staff — employees
  11. swing — in golf
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. swing — music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. swing — to play on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. land — ground
  21. key — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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