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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: perch · object · chip · stand · chair · hand · spring · snap

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. spring — the season
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — the fish
  16. object — to protest
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. snap — to click
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stand — to bear

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