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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: hide · trunk · perch · file · chair · chip · court · rest

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chip — for betting
  5. file — a document
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — of a king
  11. rest — what's left
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — for sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. court — of law
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a tool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chair — a leader

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