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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 120 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — the animal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. staff — employees
  8. key — in music
  9. bound — certain
  10. staff — a stick
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bound — tied together
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bound — obliged
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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