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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · band · bat · straw · chest · plane · lean · spring

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lean — to bend
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. spring — of water
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — the season
  12. band — a ring
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — thin
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. band — a music group

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