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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 · firm · cold · safe · perch · key · last · sharp

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. key — for a lock
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. firm — a company
  6. swing — to play on
  7. key — the most important part
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — an illness
  14. key — in music
  15. firm — steady
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. sharp — clever
  18. perch — the fish
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. last — final
  21. swing — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — finally
  24. swing — in golf

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