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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — a contest
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tube — a container
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tube — the underground
  14. perch — the fish
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rest — a break
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — for baseball

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