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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: file · chair · pass · mate · spell · wave · straw · perch

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pass — a permit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a document
  10. mate — a friend
  11. perch — the fish
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. spell — magic

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