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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fall — the season
  5. rush — hurry
  6. branch — a division
  7. sharp — clever
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. lean — thin
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pop — soda
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pop — 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