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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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Word bank
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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mate — to breed
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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