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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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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: saw · straw · calf · lie · perch · chest · swing · spring

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. lie — to recline
  5. spring — of water
  6. saw — the tool
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. swing — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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