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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: perch · racket · chair · temple · arm · chest · land · object

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. land — ground
  3. chair — a leader
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — a country
  9. chest — of your body
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. object — an aim
  12. land — to come down
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. object — a thing
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. object — to protest
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. racket — for tennis

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