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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rash — hasty
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — ground
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — to play on
  14. perch — the fish
  15. swing — in golf
  16. lean — to bend
  17. swing — music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lean — thin
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mate — to breed
  24. plane — in geometry

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