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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.

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: ball · bat · leaves · perch · chair · spell · mate · root

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. root — of a plant
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spell — letters
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spell — a short time
  9. root — of a word
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mate — a friend
  16. root — the cause
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — the animal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spell — magic
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. ball — a dance
  24. perch — for a bird

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