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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 · rule · chest · bat · chair · rest · sharp · bowl

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rule — government
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rest — a break
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. chest — a box
  15. rule — a law
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rest — what's left

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