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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. hand — help
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. ground — crushed
  8. perch — the fish
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — the earth
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ground — a position
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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