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

Word bank: chair · perch · bowl · mate · present · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — child
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. present — a gift
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. present — the time now
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mate — to breed
  18. present — there

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