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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: last · patient · wind · roll · rest · bark · swing · perch

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. swing — music
  6. roll — a list
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — to go on
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rest — a break
  24. last — finally

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