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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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468
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. roll — a cake
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spell — magic
  10. staff — employees
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. content — the amount
  17. roll — a list
  18. content — happy
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — employees
  22. perch — the fish
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chip — for betting

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