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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held 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. content — videos and posts
  2. chair — a leader
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — an illness
  5. drill — a practice
  6. can — a tin
  7. mug — a cup
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — to get on
  17. content — happy
  18. can — to be able to
  19. drill — the tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. perch — the fish
  22. board — a committee
  23. chair — a professorship
  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