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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. present — a gift
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — the amount
  9. present — there
  10. tube — a container
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. present — the time now
  19. bank — for money
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bank — of a river
  24. perch — for a bird

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