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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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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 · swing · deal · stand · mine · perch · pop · arm

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mine — for digging
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stand — to bear
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. swing — music
  11. pop — music
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pop — soda
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. deal — a big deal

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