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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a line of people
  6. perch — the fish
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. race — the arms race
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. file — a tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. rash — a series
  15. foot — a measure
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. file — a document
  21. race — a contest
  22. spring — a coil
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. content — happy

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