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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: perch · swing · charge · game · wound · face · drill · tear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. face — to confront
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — a practice
  6. face — part of the head
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — in golf
  14. charge — in control
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. drill — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. swing — to play on
  24. game — wild animals

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