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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. present — there
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — for digging
  7. present — a gift
  8. charge — in control
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. perch — the fish
  11. charge — a price
  12. file — a document
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hand — in cards
  19. charge — electricity
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. content — the amount
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. present — the time now

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