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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — wild animals
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. game — a match
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. present — a gift
  23. perch — the fish
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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