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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pop · rash · perch · fork · chest · mug · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pop — soda
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. mug — a face
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mug — to rob
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — in a road
  19. march — music
  20. pop — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rash — a series

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