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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: perch · leaves · swing · roll · race · rest · mouse · row

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. roll — a list
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. swing — to play on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — in golf
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — the arms race
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. row — a line
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. swing — music
  21. perch — the fish
  22. race — a contest
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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