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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: bat · cell · perch · staff · stand · content · chair · fan

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. content — happy
  12. staff — employees
  13. content — the amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cell — a phone
  18. perch — the fish
  19. staff — employees
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stand — on your feet

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