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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 116 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 · content · pass · chair · object · cold · pit · lash

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. content — happy
  3. object — a thing
  4. pass — a permit
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. object — to protest
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — an aim
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. content — the amount
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — in a race
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cold — an illness

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