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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 120 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: leaves · craft · cell · land · present · perch · swing · chest

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. perch — the fish
  4. present — a gift
  5. land — a country
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — a box
  9. present — there
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — ground
  12. swing — to play on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — to come down
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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