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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.

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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fine — high quality
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — happy
  9. staff — employees
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fine — all right
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cell — a phone
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. mine — an explosive

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