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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — a gift
  6. perch — the fish
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bat — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. present — there
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. stand — for spectators

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