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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: mark · ball · chair · racket · cap · chest · squash · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  3. squash — to crush
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chair — a leader
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cap — a hat
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ball — a great time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — a box
  23. ball — a dance
  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