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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: pitcher · kid · last · rest · chair · mate · perch · field

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — child
  3. last — finally
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — to go on
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — final
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. rest — a break
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — the fish
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — to tease
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — a professorship

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