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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · ruler · cold · branch · chair · pop · perch · game

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. game — a match
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. pop — music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. game — wild animals
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — not warm
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pop — to visit
  19. branch — a division
  20. chair — a leader
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. plane — a tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. plane — in geometry

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