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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cap — of ice
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. perch — the fish
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. branch — a division
  19. pass — a permit
  20. face — to confront
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cap — a hat

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