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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fall — to drop
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. content — happy
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. content — the amount
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. rest — what's left
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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