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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 120 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: perch · cap · stick · cell · tear · bound · face · chair

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chair — a leader
  11. perch — the fish
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bound — certain
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cap — a lid
  23. face — part of the head
  24. perch — for a bird

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