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

Word bank: band · perch · chair · stand · wind · mark

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. band — a ring
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stand — to bear
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mark — a grade
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air

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