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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — in biology
  8. root — the cause
  9. drill — army training
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. season — of the year
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. root — of a word
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. drill — a practice
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cell — a phone

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