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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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Word bank
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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: rush · chair · row · season · game · perch · field · arm

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — for sport
  10. row — a line
  11. season — of the year
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. game — a match
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. field — farmland
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. game — wild animals
  18. perch — the fish
  19. row — to paddle
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — a subject
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — hurry

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