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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — to eat
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. march — the month
  11. key — for a lock
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. ground — the earth
  16. key — the most important part
  17. ground — a position
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. march — the month
  21. content — happy
  22. perch — the fish
  23. key — in music
  24. fall — the season

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