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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · band · perch · spring · hand · leaves · key · chest

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hand — in cards
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — the season
  14. key — in music
  15. spring — of water
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chest — a box
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. swing — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. swing — to play on
  24. key — for a lock

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