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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 · tear · staff · march · roll · capital · shower

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. march — the month
  3. roll — a list
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — to rip
  8. swing — in golf
  9. staff — a stick
  10. perch — the fish
  11. staff — employees
  12. capital — money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — music
  17. swing — music
  18. roll — a cake
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. march — the month

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