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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cue — a signal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — the amount
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cue — a hint
  11. tear — to rip
  12. roll — a cake
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — happy
  15. roll — a list
  16. cue — for pool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. perch — the fish

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