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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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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: tear · swing · mate · perch · charge · file · wound · roll

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. roll — a list
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — a friend
  12. roll — a cake
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a document
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a line of people
  20. charge — a price
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tear — from crying
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — in control

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