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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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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 · firm · trunk · file · march · present · perch · mouse

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. present — a gift
  5. firm — a company
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a document
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — the month
  12. present — there
  13. file — a tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — the time now
  19. perch — the fish
  20. firm — decided
  21. march — music
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. trunk — 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