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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spring — the season
  8. face — part of the head
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — of water
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. perch — the fish
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. face — to confront
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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