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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: spell · tube · bore · swing · wind · perch · vault · cold

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. swing — in golf
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — music
  12. vault — a safe
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wind — moving air
  18. perch — the fish
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — the underground

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