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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 · cell · rash · club · pit · face · leaves · sharp

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. club — for dancing
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. perch — the fish
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rash — a series
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. club — for golf
  16. face — part of the head
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. club — a group
  19. pit — a hole
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. face — to confront
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. sharp — clever
  24. leaves — of a tree

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