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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 · charge · straw · spring · vault · branch · capital · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. charge — electricity
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. spring — a coil
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. branch — a division
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. charge — a price
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — a city
  19. charge — in control
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. vault — a safe

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