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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: sharp · bore · perch · rest · chair · club · stem · bark

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. club — for golf
  6. bore — to drill
  7. club — a group
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rest — what's left
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rest — a break
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bark — of a tree

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