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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — not warm
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. perch — the fish
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. degree — temperature
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — a box
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mate — to breed

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