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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · staff · perch · bore · chair · capital · ground · hand

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. capital — money
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. ground — the earth

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