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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: perch · leaves · chip · kid · chair · bat · sharp · mouse

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chip — to eat
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — clever
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — the animal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. sharp — with an edge

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