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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: chair · perch · pass · capital · root · scale · chest · shower

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. perch — the fish
  6. scale — size or range
  7. shower — to wash
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — a box
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — money
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. root — of a word
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. root — of a plant
  19. scale — in music
  20. root — the cause
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chest — of your body
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chair — a leader

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