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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: swing · chair · dip · mine · perch · season · cell · wax

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. dip — to sink
  3. mine — for digging
  4. season — in sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. season — of the year
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. perch — the fish
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — an explosive
  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