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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: kid · racket · leaves · spell · perch · chair · bat · fall

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. perch — the fish
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. kid — child
  15. spell — a short time
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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