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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: straw · stem · perch · lean · fork · march · club · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stem — to come from
  9. march — the month
  10. club — for golf
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lean — to bend
  19. march — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lean — thin
  23. club — a group
  24. lean — to rest against

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