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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. file — a document
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — a leader
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — a friend
  10. swing — music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. face — to point toward
  14. row — a line
  15. face — to confront
  16. file — a line of people
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. row — to paddle
  20. file — a tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chair — to sit on

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