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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bound — tied together
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bound — certain
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — the amount
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tear — to rip
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. coach — a trainer
  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