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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: straw · band · rock · plane · perch · swing · race · stand

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. race — humankind
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. band — a music group
  8. perch — the fish
  9. band — a ring
  10. stand — to bear
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — the arms race
  13. swing — music
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rock — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stand — on your feet
  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