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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: shower · coach · swing · mine · fan · ruler · chest · perch

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. swing — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — rain
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chest — a box

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