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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. perch — the fish
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. snap — to click
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bulb — for light
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bulb — for light
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chair — a leader
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. content — the amount

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