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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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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: swing · stand · perch · mate · fork · plane · chair · patient

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stand — to bear
  3. swing — music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fork — in a road
  14. plane — a tool
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. swing — in golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. plane — an aircraft

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