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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: rash · chest · club · drill · perch · cap · lean · land

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. club — for golf
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — a country
  10. club — a group
  11. cap — a lid
  12. drill — a practice
  13. land — to come down
  14. cap — a hat
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — to bend
  17. chest — a box
  18. drill — army training
  19. lean — thin
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — ground
  24. rash — hasty

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