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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 116 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: rock · chair · wax · kid · hide · swing · perch · fall

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fall — the season
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. perch — the fish
  15. swing — music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rock — to move gently

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