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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: perch · race · chest · roll · dip · press · chair · pass

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — a permit
  8. race — a contest
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — the arms race
  13. press — to push
  14. perch — the fish
  15. roll — a cake
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. race — humankind
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chair — a leader
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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