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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: chair · dip · board · stick · perch · cold · land · game

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. board — a committee
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. game — a match
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. game — wild animals
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — to come down
  19. dip — to sink
  20. board — to get on
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. cold — an illness

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