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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. lie — to recline
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cap — a hat
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cap — a lid
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — in golf
  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