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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 116 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: pitcher · perch · firm · row · rest · pass · cold · stem

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. firm — a company
  9. perch — the fish
  10. firm — decided
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — a line
  16. firm — steady
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. row — to paddle
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — the Cold War

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