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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 · stick · spring · bat · pass · bear · drill · chest

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bear — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — a practice
  6. spring — the season
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — army training
  10. chest — a box
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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