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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: perch · fork · file · swing · cap · band · kid · lie

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. swing — to play on
  5. band — a music group
  6. kid — child
  7. swing — music
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — a hat
  14. lie — to recline
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. file — a line of people
  19. swing — in golf
  20. kid — to tease
  21. band — a ring
  22. cap — of ice
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cap — a lid

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