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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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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. perch — the fish
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. file — a line of people
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. file — a document
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wax — in the ear

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