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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 · suit · chair · scale · cold · perch · rest · lean

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — to play on
  4. suit — in cards
  5. swing — music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. scale — size or range
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. suit — clothes
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cold — not warm
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chair — a leader
  17. suit — to fit
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — the fish
  20. lean — thin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rest — a break
  23. scale — in music
  24. lean — to rest against

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