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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mug — a face
  8. can — a tin
  9. face — part of the head
  10. can — to be able to
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mug — to rob
  14. degree — an amount
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. row — a line
  20. can — a tin
  21. mug — a cup
  22. game — a match
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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