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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. land — ground
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. land — to come down
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. scale — in music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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