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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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Word bank
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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: ball · perch · key · land · stem · pop · chair · wake

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pop — to visit
  5. key — in music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. perch — the fish
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wake — a trail
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — ground

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