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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.

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: file · perch · hand · ground · suit · pit · bat · chair

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. suit — clothes
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. suit — in cards
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ground — a position
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — help
  10. pit — in a race
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pit — a hole
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — crushed
  23. perch — the fish
  24. suit — to fit

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