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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cap · cabinet · rash · dip · chair · court · wind · perch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chair — a leader
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of a king
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. dip — to sink
  17. court — for sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cap — a hat
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chair — a professorship

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