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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 116 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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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: rest · stick · staff · hide · chair · sharp · march · perch

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chair — a leader
  9. staff — employees
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rest — what's left
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — music
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chair — to sit on

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