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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: pass · chair · saw · calf · perch · last · pit · bat

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — final
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — in a race
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. saw — the tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pit — a hole
  14. last — to go on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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