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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: pound · swing · perch · fine · trunk · pitch · wound · band

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pitch — completely
  19. band — a music group
  20. swing — music
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pound — a weight

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