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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — a leader
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pitch — completely
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. perch — the fish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. plane — a tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. content — happy
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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