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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — of the year
  20. fork — in a road
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — for sport

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