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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · rash · net · straw · stick · game · perch · sharp

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — in sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. game — a match
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — after costs
  11. chair — a leader
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. perch — the fish
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rash — a series
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — clever
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. net — for catching

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