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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 120 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: bat · wax · perch · present · lie · cap · chair · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. present — there
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bat — the animal
  6. present — a gift
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cap — a hat
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cap — of ice
  23. staff — employees
  24. present — the time now

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