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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: fall · key · perch · band · season · club · chest · straw

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. perch — the fish
  4. club — for dancing
  5. key — in music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. chest — a box
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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