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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: swing · clip · lash · march · perch · straw · toast · land

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — to cut
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. land — a country
  6. swing — in golf
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — a video
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. perch — the fish
  15. toast — bread
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. swing — to play on
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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