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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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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: trunk · lean · chair · present · perch · mark · pitcher · cold

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lean — thin
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. present — there
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — the time now
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — not warm
  14. perch — the fish
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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