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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.

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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: straw · perch · season · patient · capital · pound · swing · face

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. season — of the year
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — money
  11. face — to confront
  12. perch — the fish
  13. swing — music
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — a city
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pound — a weight
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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