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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: cold · perch · swing · charge · stem · chest · scale · can

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cold — an illness
  3. charge — in control
  4. chest — of your body
  5. can — a tin
  6. charge — electricity
  7. scale — in music
  8. chest — a box
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stem — to come from
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. charge — a price
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. can — to be able to
  24. stem — a stem cell

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