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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chair · bore · band · coach · spring · lean · mine

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mine — for digging
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lean — thin
  15. bore — to drill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a ring
  22. chair — a leader
  23. band — a music group
  24. perch — the fish

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