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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: trunk · bound · stock · face · spell · perch · pitcher · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — a leader
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. spell — magic
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spell — letters
  15. stock — goods
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — shares
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bound — tied together

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