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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: mine · cell · swing · shower · bound · bat · bay · perch

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cell — in biology
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — a phone
  19. shower — rain
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — for digging
  23. swing — music
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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