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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: perch · swing · land · content · bat · saw · leaves · pound

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pound — a weight
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. land — a country
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. land — ground
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — music

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