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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. race — humankind
  3. content — happy
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. perch — the fish
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rock — music
  15. race — a contest
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rock — a stone
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — the amount
  24. deal — to handle

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