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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cell — a phone
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cell — in biology
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wake — a trail
  13. perch — the fish
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. jam — in traffic

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