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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: coach · tear · swing · perch · land · pound · chip · content

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. swing — to play on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — a country
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — ground
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. content — happy
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. content — the amount

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