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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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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 · chair · cell · perch · roll · arm · pitcher · row

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cap — of ice
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. row — a line
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. roll — a list
  19. cell — in biology
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cap — a lid
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. roll — on a roll
  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