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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. toast — bread
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — to fit
  7. content — happy
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cap — a hat
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a music group
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. swing — music
  17. band — a ring
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — the fish
  20. swing — to play on
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — the amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — in golf

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