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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chest — a box
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. file — a tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a document
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a city
  22. cell — a phone
  23. file — a line of people
  24. snap — to click

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