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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. perch — for a bird
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. content — happy
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cap — of ice
  11. march — the month
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. degree — an amount

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