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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: club · trunk · perch · swing · deal · wind · ball · root

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ball — a great time
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. perch — the fish
  9. root — of a word
  10. swing — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — to play on
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. club — for dancing
  22. deal — to handle
  23. root — the cause
  24. ball — a dance

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