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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — in a race
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — for betting
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mug — to rob
  17. fall — to drop
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fall — the season
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a ring

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