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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: row · cabinet · swing · chest · staff · ground · foot · perch

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. swing — in golf
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — a box
  13. staff — employees
  14. swing — music
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — a measure
  17. perch — the fish
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — a position
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. ground — crushed
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — the earth
  24. foot — the bottom

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